The Sad Truth: 20 Reasons I Dislike the Philippines

I’ve been seeing links of the video 20 Reasons I Dislike the Philippines on my FB feeds. I haven’t been paying attention to it but not until today. The video is a 14-minute narration of Jimmy, an American guy who’s been living here in the Philippines for three years.

He started with his first reason, that Filipinos put giant garbage cans to open manholes instead of providing a permanent fix to it. As a matter of fact, it is a sad truth. But for Filipinos who are naturally resilient, we call it resourcefulness. Instead of waiting for our not so competent government officials to fix the problem, we provide an interim solution.

Some of the things he raised are a bit exaggerated. And the constant “pissing me off” and “fu*k” is really irritating. But sadly, most of the issues he pointed out are true. Oh how I cringed at seeing those public restrooms. For a country with people who take a bath twice a day, it’s really ironic that our public restrooms are disgusting. So those who think that there is no truth in what this guy is saying, raise your hand! Those hands are the hands of the hypocrites.

I bet a lot of Filipinos are going berserk over this guy. They are probably calling him names. Those who are hungry for attention will even go to the extremes of calling our government to deport him or demand for a public apology just like what they wanted from that Taylor whoever who does not even know the difference between Indonesia and Philippines. But come to think of it. Everybody can also come up with a list of the things he dislikes about China, Korea, India, USA, or any other countries in the world.

This guy is irritated with a cock’s sound but for Filipinos, it signifies the beginning of a new day, God’s way of reminding us that we are still alive for others are not given the same chance. And yes, it is our cheapest alarm clock!

It’s also not our problem that we have competent English teachers, the most probable reason that Koreans stay here.

And for your information Jimmy, there are also hot lady boys in your country; but the ones in Thailand are probably the hottest. :p And also for your information, Filipinas are not made to be HOT. They are born and raised to be a loving wife and a caring mother.

So we have two choices here. We can kick this guy’s ass and call him an ingrate for mistreating the country who has been his second home for the past three years. Or we can do our part in showing the world that we are working out our shortcomings as a nation. As a matter of fact, we don’t owe it to the world. We owe it to ourselves.

And to our government especially to the Department of Tourism, instead of criticizing and downplaying this viral video, why don’t you (or we as a nation) just thank Jimmy for showing us the truth? We can come up with 20 million things to love about the Philippines but the sad truth still remains - that our country needs some serious transformation! Jimmy just provided 20, there are actually a lot more! (i.e. inefficient railway system, abusive cab drivers, undisciplined motorists and corrupt traffic enforcers to name a few) Huwag tayong masyadong balat sibuyas!

FYI: There are also videos of 20 Reasons I Like the Philippines on channelfix.com.